The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex recovered from initial losses and was quoted higher by 7 points in the late morning trade on fresh buying mainly in FMCG and healthcare sectors.
The Sensex resumed lower at 26,349.87 and dropped further to 26,331.83 on initial selling mainly in power sector after the Supreme Court ruling yesterday that termed all coal block allocations made since 1993 as illegal.
However, it recovered immediately to 26,481.97 before quoting at 26,443.78 at 1030hrs on fresh buying, showing a marginal gain of 6.76 points or 0.03 per cent from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty was quoted marginally lower by 1.75 points or 0.02 per cent to 7,904.55 at 1030 hours.
Major gainers were Sun Pharma (2.07 pct), Tata Steel (2.05 pct), Cipla (1.75 pct), HUL (1.36 pct), Hindalco (1.21 pct), Bharti Airtel (1.14 pct) and Dr Reddy's Lab 1.11 pct.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 127.33 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Most Asian stocks declined in their early trade. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong and China fell 0.12 pct to 0.5 pct while indices in Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea rose 0.04 pct to 0.51 pct.
US stocks gained yesterday with S&P 500 index closing at a record high and moving above 2,000 mark in intraday trade for the first time, buoyed by financials and biotechnology stocks.
